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Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
It was this day in 1914 that got the Great War started. On this morning more than 100 years ago, a Serbian nationalist, 19 year-old Gavrilo Princip shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After Austria-Hungry had annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, it infuriated the Serbians. So a group of nationalists got together and formed a plan to kill the Archduke. After having to reroute their parade route, it allowed Princip to step out from the crowd and get a clear shot of Franz, starting WWI. -
Germany Declares War on Russia
Once had declared war on Serbia, it sent Russia into "rescue" mode. Russia came down to defend Serbia against Austria Hungary. Well, A.H. had an alliance with Germany. So as a result, Germany declared war on Russia to help protect A.H. -
The Sinking of the Lusitania.
During this time, German U-Boats (submarines) were throughout the Atlantic Ocean targeting any ships crossing the Atlantic. On May 5, a British Cruise liner, the Lusitania, was on it's way from New York to Liverpool, England. However, it came into contact with a German U-Boat. The U-Boat torpedoed the ship and sank it, killing more than 1,100 passengers on board, 128 of which were Americans. This action resulted in significant reason Americans turned against the Germans during WWI. -
Germany Limits Submarines
As a result to the sinking of the Lusitania, it caused president Woodrow Wilson to put pressure on the German Navy to stop these attacks. At first, Germany agreed to put restrictions on the attacks During an attack on a French passenger ship called the Sussex, it caused Wilson to hold firm ground and pressured Germany into stopping in order to prevent the U.S. from getting involved. Germany agreed to sign the Sussex Treaty, saying sub attacks will seize on passenger and cargo ships. -
Submarines Attacks Return
Germany announces that it will resume its unrestricted submarine warfare. And there's a catch this time: they say they will attack any kind of ship that crosses into any sited war zone waters. This included any civilian passenger ships. As a result, the U.S. cut off all diplomatic relations with Germany. Just about a couple of hours later, a German U-Boat shot and sunk an American ship. -
Zimmerman Telegram
The British gave the United States a telegram that discussed a proposal to Mexico by Germany. Germany wanted Mexico to join forces with them so they could assist, and if they did, they would get some land back from their Spanish Am. war. Germany's plan was that Mexico would attack the U.S. from the bottom because Germany believed the U.S. navy would send all their ships across the Atlantic. Mexico, however, was smart and said no thanks. This was pushed Americans even further against Germany. -
U.S. Enters the War
President Woodrow Wilson had tried very hard to keep the U.S. neutral through the war. But with events like the sinking of the Lusitania, the Zimmerman telegram, the sinking of a U.S. ship, they were all reasons Americans turned against Germany. These things needed to come to a stop so even larger amounts of innocent people wouldn't be killed. And they also knew Britain and France could have used the reinforcements. -
Germany and Russia Sign a Peace Treaty
During the war, Russia wasn't really having the greatest luck getting victories over Germany on the Eastern front. So Russia tried to come to some sort of agreement. After a temporary agreement had failed, the two nations resumed fighting. But with German army quickly advancing, they would eventually surrender. So later that month they signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. As a result, it gave up land to Germany and had to recognize the independence of Georgia, Finland, and Ukraine. -
Battle of St. Mihiel
This was the first battle that U.S. troops led. The battle was also the first major battle that U.S. Army Air Service and aggressive use of tank combat. General John Pershing, who was in charge in France, led the battle in St. Mihiel salient. His plan was to take all the troops and come in from the front of the Germans. This plan worked greatly as the Germans had to fall back in order to be in a better position, but caused them to not be prepared and resulting in an Allied Victory. -
Waiting for Deployment
World War I veteran Earl M. Bill patiently waits at the embarkation camp for the orders to sail out. Earl, captain of his Battery, had to make sure his men were prepared to go when they were deployed. But based on what he saw, he saw that his men were ready, and in fact, were eager to get out of the camp and go see some action. -
Where's The Land
After they had finally been deployed, now Earl and his men were eager to get on land after being on the water for about eight days. "It does not make much difference what kind of land so that it is land and we get away from this ship" (Bill). Though there weren't many challenges on the actual voyage, Bill did have to deal with Spanish Influenza and later the crew. Besides complaining about being on the water, the men did get to enjoy fresh meals everyday, which was rare then. -
Same Old Same Old
Somewhere in the countryside of France, since having nothing to do for the past couple of days, Bill takes the time to do a tedious task. He is censoring letters from his men to whoever they are sending them to back home. Though it may have been an invasion of privacy, it was important because if fallen into the wrong hands, there may be information used against them. Earl also describes a sunset. "Gave one the impression of a peaceful and quiet sunset [...] in Flanders" was the opposite. -
Still Waiting
As what might seem a surprise to others, Earl and his men still hadn't gone into combat. But at that point, it didn't surprise Earl. They would constantly receive reports of what's happening on the front, and every time it was always good news. In his mind, he saw this as a good thing because then more things will be saved and the war would end sooner. But almost as a miracle, the rain had stopped falling and the men were able to experience a beautiful sunset they hadn't seen for a long time. -
That Was Easy
Describing a war zone as excitement, Earl was pretty confident and disappointed he wouldn't be able to to see any fight time. If anything, it really infuriated him. Because coming out there for nothing and leaving his family was hard, and so it wasn't really justified. It made him feel like a slacker to himself and the Battery. But he was happy that he didn't have to stay at the embarkation camp back in the United States. -
Armistice Day
This was the final day in the war! The Allies created the Treaty of Versailles, which if anything, really punished Germany for everything. They had little participation in the creation of the treaty, and they had lots of new changes within the treaty. They had to reduce their military size, gave new boundaries to Germany, the allied Nations received some land from Germany, had to demilitarize some zones along their borders, like the one with France, and many other things.
